WIDNES Wild ice hockey team sit proudly on top of the NIHL Laidler Conference, two points clear of their nearest rivals, after a back to back winning weekend that saw them score 18 goals and concede just two.

They started off with an emphatic 2-10 victory away to Hull Jets on Humberside on Saturday night and then beat Bradford Bulldogs 8-0 at home at Silver Blades Widnes on Sunday.

In Hull on Saturday, the Wild stamped their authority on the game as early as the 3rd minute with a goal from Nick Manning and they raced into a three goal lead by 6.51 with further goals from Karl Niamatali and Kieran Strangeway.

With Hull seriously short-benched and only icing 10 skaters, the game could easily have turned into rout at this point but the hosts dug deep and pulled themselves back into contention with a goal on the 10 minute mark.

They pulled a second goal back at the start of the second period and the Wild goal came under some heavy pressure as the Jets threw everything at it in search of an unlikely equaliser.

Matt Croyle – making his first competitive start in goal for Widnes after joining from Sheffield in the summer – performed heroically to keep the swooping Jets at bay during this crucial period and, once the storm had been weathered, the Wild were able to re-take the initiative.

Five unanswered goals in the latter half of the second period put the game beyond the reach of the battling Hull team – two from Will Barron and one each from Manning, Lee Kemp and captain Shaun Dippnall.

Two more strikes in the last period – from Will Barron again and then player coach Ollie Barron in the last minute - secured the points for Widnes.

It was a similar story at home on Sunday against the Bradford Bulldogs who Widnes had struggled to beat away just the week before and the Wild raced to an impressive 3-0 lead by the mid-point of the first period.

The opening phase of the game was very closely contested and, despite being few in number, the visiting Bradford side looked well organised both in defence and attack.

However, the first Widnes strike came after 4 minutes when Kieran Strangeway hit home a Stuart Brittle pass and, just 39 seconds later, Nick Manning found the net again to double the lead.

Brittle himself then scored on 9.33 and then two more goals from – David Swanston (shorthanded) and Karl Niamatali – meant that the Wild left the ice at first buzzer with a 5 goal advantage.

The Bulldogs looked a changed team when they came out after the break - they held their own for much of the period and looked on top of the play for long spells.

Dogged defensively play from the Wild team brought several penalties and they were often caught on the back foot as the Bulldogs charged forward in search of their first goal.

With the Widnes side playing shorthanded for extended sessions, netminder Matt Croyle faced more shots in the second period than he did for whole of the rest of game but he pulled off a string of amazing saves and would go to pick up his first shut out for Widnes – in his first games on home ice.

An element of relief was felt when, just as it looked as if the period would finish goalless, Czech import Pavel Vales fired in an unstoppable slapshot from the blue line on 37.59 to make it 6-0 to Widnes.

Goals from Will Barron and Stuart Brittle rounded off the scoring in the third period and the Wild were able to celebrate their fourth consecutive league win of the season by moving two points clear at the top of the league table.

The Widnes Wild are without a game next weekend but are in home action again on Sunday 9th October when they entertain Blackburn Eagles at Silver Blades Widnes. Doors open at 4.45pm and face off is at 5.30.